Explainer | Land, sea and air: 5 visa-free ways to travel to mainland China from 72 hours up to 30 days
- Mainland China has rolled out policies, including visa-free entry, to boost its tourism sector that was hit hard by three years of the coronavirus
A visa to China can take days, cost well over US$100 and require page after page of paperwork.
The red tape has deterred some foreigners from visiting the world’s second-largest economy as tourists or business travellers.
China reopened its borders and abandoned quarantine in January 2023 after shedding three years of its zero-Covid policy, but the pandemic had led to a large exodus of foreign residents and virtually no inbound tourism.
And since late last year, Chinese immigration officials have placed 12 countries on a visa-free list and augmented older visa waiver schemes amid efforts to boost inbound travel.
1. Transit through 23 Chinese cities (3-6 days)
Passport holders from 54 nations, including Australia, Japan, the United States and countries throughout Europe, can reach much of mainland China via its international airports.
Airports in the likes of Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guilin, Kunming, Qingdao, Shenyang, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen, Guangdong province and the Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang cluster can process visa-free arrivals for transit passengers for 72 to 144 hours.
